Web courses on India’s traditions in the works

New Delhi: The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) plans to launch an online platform for short but specialised courses on traditional Indian knowledge

New Delhi: The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) plans to launch an online platform for short but specialised courses on traditional Indian knowledge as people are confined to their homes because of the Covid-19 pandemic globally. The external cultural relations wing hopes the Universalisation of Traditional Indian Knowledge Systems (UTIKS) Platform will serve as a bridge between Indian culture and the global population.

HT Image

The courses will include subjects like Ramayana and Mahabharata epics, traditional Indian dances, Panchtantra tales, arts like making sky lanterns, freedom struggle, Indian wildlife, temple architecture, folk arts, yoga.

“Through the UTIKS Platform, for the first time, a structured attempt is being made to generate academic interest in various nuances of Indian culture and later an opportunity to enhance its understanding is being offered. India’s soft power is all about creating a sound understanding about our culture and this new initiative would go a long way in achieving this,” ICCR chairperson Vinay Sahasrabuddhe said.

Sahasrabuddhe, a Bharatiya Janata Party member of Rajya Sabha, said not just foreigners but even those in India, who are ignorant about culture and diverse manifestations of the country’s unity, will be helped in enhancing their understanding.

An ICCR official said many were taking up short-duration courses offered by platforms like Coursera and edX especially with normal lives have been disrupted because of the pandemic.

It was felt that student-friendly courses related to traditional Indian knowledge system can serve as a strong bridge between India and those who want to study its culture, the official added. The official said the UTIKS platform will evoke greater curiosity in the minds of those, who know precious little about the Indian culture. It will also be for those introduced to the culture who want to know more. “It would help India as an easy to understand civilisation and culture, doing away with the enigma that surrounds the idea of India in a more learner-friendly manner,” said the official.

The ICCR has some content for the courses. It also plans to tie up with specialised bodies like the National Gallery of Modern Art and the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts to create high-quality courses.

A list of proposed courses, accessed by HT, ranges from those on Indian traditional celebration practices like rangoli, mehndi, sky lanterns, cookery, tea and coffee varieties, kahwa, masala tea, pickles, snacks, deserts, traditional games, Indian epics, dances, constitution, social justice traditions, gender, sustainability philosophy, rural governance, temple architecture and traditional embroideries.